Harry Potter and the Desk of Nightmares
by Arthur Hansen
Summary: Harry Potter fights for his and Hermione's life in Middle Earth.


Harry Potter and the Desk of Nightmares

**Home for the Holidays again.**

Harry Potter sighed as he stared off into the distance with sad eyes. All of the houses on Privet drive were nearly identical in the darkness of night. Ordinary, drab and mundane, just like his family wanted to be. But they hid a terrible secret. Their poor, delinquent nephew was the most unordinary of any people anywhere, a wizard. They had tried to strangle the magic out of him as a child, but it was not to be.

And in just a little over a month, he would be back in the wizarding world, at Hogwarts School for Magic. The green-eyed young man looked over to his clock. It showed that he was just two minutes shy of midnight. In just two minutes, he would be sixteen.

But still not old enough to be considered an adult or be on his own. Anywhere away from his aunt, uncle and cousin. Well, maybe not his aunt Petunia. She had almost shown that she was worried when he first got home and he had fallen into depression of the loss of his godfather. Nothing so blatant that Uncle Vernon would have become angry with him over it. But he had actually been fed a mostly fair amount of food. And roused him from his bed when he'd wanted to just stare at the ceiling all day.

And it was oddly soothing for her to actually care for him, even obliquely. For he'd been a right mess when he first got home. He wouldn't have known what he would have done without all the letters and cakes that the Weasleys always sent him, either. He'd been in a very black mood. To distract himself, he pushed on with his schoolwork with a will. Luckily, this year any ways, he was allowed to do his work up in his room without being bothered.

Harry's expression became even more pensive as he strove. Even Dudley had changed from his overly mean self to a merely obnoxious over-weight teen that trained to be a boxer. Dudley had even asked him, in private, a little bit about Voldemort and the dangers that the wizarding world held from the mundane. It almost seemed like a morbid curiosity about the Dementors that nearly killed them last year.

Harry glanced over at the clock. He was now finally sixteen. He looked over at the window hopefully. How would his friends come and rescue him this time? Fred and George in an illegally modified Muggle car? A clandestine wizarding escape on broomsticks?

It wasn't until Harry awoke in the morning that he realized that no one had come for him. Or seemed to remember his birthday. He glanced over at the window that was letting in bright sunshine. That was odd and disheartening.

Aunt Petunia hadn't woken him up to cook breakfast like normal, either. "Wake up! Wake up, Harry! It is breakfast time!" said the woman from downstairs.

Harry walked down in a stunned haze. His friends had forgotten him entirely. Not even a single Birthday present. It just wasn't believable. He sat at the table heavily. He squinted at his plate closely. Blueberry pancakes?

Uncle Vernon just harrumphed and turned his page for his newspaper. "It looks like our stocks are still rising. That will help with my bonus this year."

"That's wonderful, dear." Petunia glanced over at the clock. "You're late, you realize. It's almost eight o'clock."

With a small rumble of agreement, Vernon took his leave and departed for work. Harry was suddenly conscious that Petunia and Dudley were both watching him while trying to appear as if they weren't.

Harry looked at them both in consternation. "Do I have something on my face?"

His aunt blinked. "No, no! I was just wondering... It looks like you need a haircut. We'll walk over to Langley's and get it cut. We'll have to walk, of course. Vernon has the car."

Dudley narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "That's right by the video game parlor, isn't it? They've got the Mortal Combat Death Match that I've just been wanting to try."

Harry had an unusual feeling of dread. It was almost like they were trying to be nice to him. But that just wasn't possible. The Dursley's _hated_ him and all wizards with a passion that was rarely seen outside of epic dramas. He played with his hair self-consciously. "They aren't going to cut it like that one time, are they?"

Petunia looked almost offended, but something in her tone didn't quite match the severe frown she wore. "Not if they expect to be paid, they won't! Hurry up and finish breakfast you two. Come on. Dudley, make sure to wash up!"

Thirty minutes later, Harry was pleased to note that the barber had done a reasonably good job of almost taming his hair. He'd even felt a little horrible about the fact that his unruly hair just wouldn't sit down properly.

"That wasn't so horrible, was it? Come along, Harry. You can carry my packages while I shop for some things for the house. Are you coming with us, Dudley-kins?" the rail-thin woman asked her son.

Dudley nodded his head, his own hair trimmed by the barber. He almost looked presentable. "Sure. I was thinking about buying something too. Daddy gave me some money."

The young wizard thought that he'd caught his aunt looking upset with his cousin for just a second, but he couldn't for the life of him think of any reason that she would be. "Come on you two."

It was a remarkably pleasant walk. In just a few hours, it would be too warm, but for now, it was very nice. Aunt Petunia nodded cordially with the grocer and with an elderly couple playing chess.

Harry tried to ignore the stares he got for wearing Dudley's over-sized castoffs. The next few hours were spent visiting several knickknack shops. He was quite surprised when his aunt gave him an inexpensive watch. When he asked about the item, he was only told that his uncle would want him to be punctual.

Harry and Dudley had wandered over to a small clothing store while Petunia had visited the drugstore. The much larger young man looked over his gangly cousin. "Say, Harry? Do you like that shirt? It looks a lot like your eyes."

Harry pursed his lips in thought. "It is a very nice polo shirt." He sighed in reflection of the fact that he'd never be able to afford that shirt, ever.

"I'd like that shirt right there," the overweight boy exclaimed.

The nice young lady just nodded. "In double extra large?" she asked with a very obvious attempt at politeness for Dudley's rotundness.

"No, I think a medium would do." Dudley seemed to be hiding a bit of anxiety, albeit poorly.

"Dudley? Have you gone stark, raving mad? Uncle Vernon is going to go ballistic if you buy me something nice."

Suddenly looking unsure, his cousin replied, "Well, duh! Then we'll just have to make sure he don't find out. Hey, there's Mums now!" Dudley quickly paid for the shirt and stuffed it into one of Petunia's bags that he and Harry were carrying.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Dudley, you look like you are positively wasting away. I know, let's eat out. There's this little eatery just around the corner. We'll get fish and chips!" Aunt Petunia looked positively chipper, a very unusual expression for her, Harry thought to himself.

"That sounds great! Come on, Harry! Let's go."

"Er, right."

After an almost quarrel between Petunia and her son over his merely large order, she turned to him. "Go ahead, boy. Order already."

"Who are you and what have you done with my aunt?" the bewildered boy exclaimed. He started patting his pockets for his wand.

"None of that in public," she hissed at him. "Is it too much that I might want to treat you on your birthday?"

Harry just gaped. "You've never treated me nice on my birthday!"

Petunia looked as if he'd slapped him while having the grace to look a bit contrite. "It was just... Anyone can make a mistake." She looked around furtively. "I've been thinking that maybe I shouldn't have treated you so badly. For so long..." She looked off into the distance.

Dudley and Harry waited for her to continue. Dudley looked positively stunned.

"I had to take a long hard look at my life. Ever since your headmaster sent that Howler last year. What if it had been Vernon and I that had died? Would Lily and her husband have taken in Dudley?"

"Mum?"

"She would have. And she would have treated him far better than we've treated you. Because she was a good person, for all that she was a witch." Petunia looked down at her place mat. "And I want to look myself in the mirror again."

"And you saved me from those Demoters last year. I was terrified. But you didn't run. You stayed there and fought them off."

Harry just sat there, stunned. "I don't know what to say. But thanks!"

After that, they all ordered something fairly nice and ate up. Dudley had Harry show off his new shirt and then they walked home. Standing in front of the door was a familiar figure to Harry, wearing his threadbare robes, his hair even grayer than normal.

"Professor Lupin! What are you doing here?" Harry asked. It must have been a full moon recently, as his old professor looked very worn.

"Hello, Harry. Petunia. This is Dudley, I take it?" the wizard said.

"Er, yes." Aunt Petunia opened the door and admitted them all to the living room. "Is there something wrong? Harry's OWLs looked very good, from what I remember."

"Hmm? Oh, I'm no longer a professor at Hogwarts. I am part of a group dedicated to protect Harry from You Know Who. Harry has spent enough time here to protect him sufficiently. And we feel that he needs to be moved to a different location for greater security." Lupin looked over the house. How very Muggle everything looked.

"Wouldn't it be safer for him to stay here?" Harry's aunt asked.

"I don't all understand it, but the protection here is limited. There is quite a bit of protection for him living here in a Muggle community, but he can be found and attacked. The Dementors last year nearly killed him. And there are those within the Ministry of Magic that hold grudges. And they can find him here."

"I'd better go then." Harry then turned and stared at his aunt and cousin in confusion for a second. With a quick hug with his aunt, he trotted up his stairs.

Lupin stared at that in surprise. He directed his next comment to the thin woman. "Did you finally decide to bury that grudge you had against Lily, Petunia?"

Petunia flushed. "Nonsense. Just because I'm treating the boy better doesn't mean anything." She handed him a bag. "These are for Harry. Take them up to him."

Lupin looked her in the eye. What he saw there, he did not say. But Petunia broke off his gaze first.

"I'd best get going then. Have a good holiday." With that, he walked up the stairs to Harry's room. "We have to hurry. The Portkey will leave in just a few minutes." With a wave of his wand, all of the boy's belongings flew into his trunk.

Hedwig ruffles his feathers. "I'll take your trunk, you get Hedwig and your broom." Lupin held out a worn boot. "Hold on to this. Quickly now," Lupin said urgently.

With a rush, Harry grabbed his owl and broom. He barely touched the boot before the gut-wrenching sensation threw him to a new location. After his stumbling arrival, Harry looked around in consternation.

This was no place that he recognized! He snapped out his wand towards the person who claimed to be Lupin. Suddenly he was engulfed in a tight hug from behind...

**Mysteries and Plots unfold.**

"Harry! You made it!" Hermione almost squealed into his ear. She released him when she noted that he'd almost hexed Lupin. "Harry? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, now. For a second there, I thought I'd been kidnapped by Deatheaters." Harry looked around the modest living room with a mantle above the fireplace cluttered with pictures of a familiar girl. "Is this your house?"

"Yes! Dumbledore was going to send you to the Burrow, but Deatheaters attacked it last night. No one was hurt," she said hurriedly. "But the Order doesn't think that it is safe there."

"So we're at your house? But how is that safer than the Dursley's?" Harry asked confused.

Lupin touched him on the shoulder. "The Grangers are hiding under the Fidelius Charm."

Harry looked upset as he turned back to Hermione. "What happened?"

"There's been a threat against some Muggle-born witches. Professor Dumbledore decided to hide us away. It's been so horrid! I haven't been able to go anywhere since school let out. I don't know how Sirius-" Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth, looking mortified to have brought up Harry's recently deceased godfather.

A welter of confused feelings crossed Harry's psyche and face. He turned away from both of them. Very quietly, he said, "I won't cry. I promised myself I wouldn't." She slowly let him go.

Hermione gently hugged him from behind again. "Do whatever you need to. We'll be here for you. Whenever you need us."

Lupin patted his shoulder. "She's speaking for all of us."

Tears shown in his eyes. His expression looked so tortured as he turned to them. "I-I-I- don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Hermione said with her most caring smile in place. She held her arms slightly open as an invitation.

An invitation that Harry tentatively took, as he stepped towards her and then engulfed her in a mutually tight embrace. He hid his face in her bushy hair.

They held each other for a long minute, when suddenly Harry started crying. "Why, Hermione?"

"I don't know, Harry. I wish I did." Hermione started patting his back lightly.

"It's just not fair."

"I... just let it out. It's not good for you to bottle in you emotions." Hermione continued to murmur in his ear for the next while, not really saying anything after a while.

Harry couldn't believe how comforting it really was, just being held. He finally released Hermione. Surprisingly, he caught a wistful expression on her face. She flushed suddenly under his gaze.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked worriedly.

"No, nothing like that," Harry said bemusedly. He let her drag him into the kitchen where he was reintroduced to her parents. Harry saw that Mr. Granger was sporting a nasty scar on his cheek. When he looked over at Hermione, she just shook her head as if to say: Don't ask right now.

"What's for supper?" she asked hurriedly.

Mrs. Granger replied, "It'll be ready in just a little while. We're having a stir-fry tonight. For a flavor of the Orient."

"Sounds great!" Harry replied as enthusiastically as possible.

"Hermione, why don't you show Harry his room and then the library where you, young lady, can work on your homework!" her father said with a most unconvincing glare. He grinned as the two young adults trotted off.

Hermione showed off her room, chock full of books and a huge desk that even had a computer. Harry was very impressed with that, even more so when he found out Hermione knew how to use it too. His room was slightly Spartan, but very clean. Hedwig was settling comfortably in his cage.

Back on the main floor, Hermione finally showed Harry the library/study. It had a huge desk in front of a large bay window's curtains.

"Oh, Harry! I have a very neat book! It's called the Nitpicker's Guide to the Lord of the Rings!" Hermione gushed. "It's all of Tolkein's works with annotations and pictures from the movies and even why they did it differently than the books." She set out the book and opened it to her bookmark. "I don't think it's quite legal, but it is very interesting."

"Er, what?" Harry looked totally confused. "I hate to sound daft, but I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't you know what the Lord of the Rings is?" Hermione looked stunned.

Harry shook his head, feeling really stupid.

"I can't believe that your family hates magic so much that they won't even let you _watch_ a fantasy movie!" she exclaimed in righteous indignation.

"I've watched a few movies on the tele," he defended himself.

"And the last time that you went to a theatre?"

Harry just laughed at that. "That would require spending too much money on their unwanted nephew! You know that!"

"Well, we will just have to fix that. We'll go see a movie tomorrow!"

"Actually, young Gryffindors, you won't."

Harry and Hermione spun around to find a most unexpected person. "Peter Pettigrew!" they shouted in unison.

**The Traitor Revealed and a very odd _passage_.**

Hermione threw off her shock first. "How did you get in here? This house is under the Fidelius Charm!"

"Ah, but it has no effect of keeping me out if I were already here, smarty-pants!" The small man looked at them with undisguised glee. He looked as natty as ever, only an amulet of silver around his neck standing out as unusual. "My Master's plan has worked to absolute perfection. Harry Potter is here, far away from Dumbledore's protection. And the Desk of Hurosiamsk is here to give you a nightmare that you won't soon forget, if you survive! _Wingarium Leviosus!"_ he shouted.

Harry and Hermione ducked the charm, wondering what he was doing. You can't levitate people with that charm. The curtain behind them and the desk suddenly flew open, letting the evening sky to become visible. Framed in the window was a new moon.

With a dark surge, shadows leapt from the desk to enfold the two, even as they attempted to call for help or even just escape. The shadows took them in and then retreated to the dark desk's cover. The surface of the desk turned into an obsidian layer of inkiness.

And Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were no longer in the room.

"Yes! Yes! I'll show that Malfoy that I am the Dark Lord's most trusted servant. Now to put the book on the desk as The Dark Lord instructed." He pulled out a book, of Muggle literature nonetheless, and moved towards the desk.

The desk repelled him with a surge of red energy, knocking him away. "It isn't supposed to keep anyone away until a story-book is placed on the desk." His eyes suddenly noted the large book already open on the desk. "No! It was supposed to be _Call of Cthulhu!_ The girl always reads her schoolbooks on this desk. They wouldn't work or cause a problem! The Dark Master will be most upset that I failed-"

"_Stupify!"_ an angry voice yelled out loudly, as the door slammed open. With an angry motion to rip Peter's wand from his nerveless finger, Lupin looked over his old school friend. "What have you done with them? What has Voldemort done with them?" he snarled, even as he picked up Peter by his shirtfront. "_Eneverate!_ Answer me; your worthless life depends on it!"

The rat-animagus tried to cower away from the angry werewolf. "I won't tell! You can do nothing that the Dark Lord can not do ten times worse."

"But I won't be the only one asking. Let us see how brave you are after Dumbledore is finished with you, Wormtail." And with that, Lupin bound the traitor with magical ropes.

**The Shire.**

The first thing that Harry and Hermione realized of their new location is that it was dark, cold and very wet.

"Hermione? Are you all right?" Harry asked. With his glasses, he was almost blind in this dark and drenching storm.

"Yes! We need to get out of this weather. I think I saw a village just down the hill." She clutched her arms to her side. The T-shirt and jeans that she was wearing were just too thin for this weather.

"What happened?" he yelled out. Realizing that if he were getting cold, Hermione would be too. He tried to shield her from the wind with his own body.

"I don't know Harry. I have to think about this."

They fumbled down the hill carefully, until they came to a weathered and worn wooden wall. About fifty feet away, they thought they saw a road and maybe even a gate. A few minutes later, they finally found the gate. They pushed against it for a second that caused to it to creak but not open, until a small window opened.

"Who goes there?" demanded a surly voice.

"Just some kids stuck out in the weather, sir." Harry blinked myopically. He hated his glasses sometimes.

"At least ye aren't hobbits down from the Shire. Fools on the road. Come in and welcome to Bree." The gatekeeper opened the gatehouse and let them into the town.

"Excuse me? Do you know a good inn?" Hermione asked. She seemed very tense suddenly.

"I thought you was a boy, at first! What is a woman doing dressed in leggings like a man?"

"Please sir, never mind that. We're drenched and we'd really like someplace to warm up." Harry held Hermione's shivering form close, trying to protect her from the man.

"Just up the road. Follow the singing and cursing, that'll get ye there soon enough."

They followed his directions and found the inn. They ducked into a little alcove. "I wish I was better at transfiguration," Harry complained. He was wracking his brain feverishly for how to do something.

"What do you want done?" his companion asked.

"I was thinking that it would be better if we wore wizarding robes," he explained.

"That's a very good idea, actually. Hold on just a second." The bedraggled, bushy-haired girl focused with her eyes closed. It almost looked like she was trying her hardest to recall something. She pulled out her wand and muttered a spell at Harry. She smiled sunnily, a sharp contrast to the gloom and darkness. "One set of robes. Now for me!" A moment later and she was similarly attired.

"Lucky that you remembered that spell. That wasn't one that Professor McGonnagal has taught us, was it?"

"No, that was one that I remember Lady Malkin doing it once. It only changes one order of item into another. So clothes to different clothes. You have to be pretty good at it to get fancy colors and fabrics, too."

Harry just nodded proudly. "Let's see about getting us some food and warmed up. This place looks positively medieval."

There was a small lull as the two teenagers entered the room, but there were not interesting enough to be of true note. Harry and Hermione walked up to the bartender. "Excuse us, sir? We are wondering about getting a room?" Harry asked.

"Two coppers for a room. A meal for each will cost you two more," the big man asked.

"Harry, I don't have any wizarding money!" Hermione whispered urgently.

He whispered back, "Luckily, I had mine on me, since Lupin showed up to take me from the Dursley's." More loudly, he asked, "How about five of these. They are bronze, so I think they should be about the same as the copper you want."

The barkeep took the coins and scrutinized them. "That'll work. Sit at a table and I'll bring you some food."

Soon they were eating a fairly bland stew. Now that Harry had a chance to look around with his glasses cleaned up, he noted a small party. Not small as in a pair of people, but small as in stature. They were little people. "Hermione?"

"Hobbits. Small folk. They live near these lands," she replied cryptically.

"What land is that?" he asked interestedly.

She narrowed her eyes in thought. "It isn't safe, Harry. If I say the wrong thing, I could get us killed."

Harry jumped at that. "Does it have to do with Wormtail? What he was doing at your house?"

"Harry. Please. It's really important that you don't ask those questions right now." Hermione's face showed real terror.

A gnawing pit seemed to be eating Harry's inside at that sight. Something that terrifying to Hermione must be really bad. "I'll try not to ask then. Just let me know what you can." He tried to smile to cheer her up.

A sudden commotion occurred near the bar. One of the hobbits had tripped and then suddenly disappeared while in plain view. Only Harry, with his seeker trained sight noted a small glint of something golden being caught by the young hobbit. He disappeared without a trace!

"He disappeared! It was magic!" a patron breathed in astonishment.

Their waitress just gaped where she stood right by them. She looked at them oddly, seeing something in them that disconcerted her severely. "You aren't scared of magic! You weren't scared!" she cried out in shock.

"Er, why should we?" Harry asked in surprise. These weren't acting like Muggles or Wizards.

Several people gathered around them even as he and Hermione stood up. "It's unnatural, is why. We don't want no weirdness causing a problem here in Bree!"

"We don't want to cause a problem," Harry started to say to placate, when one of the men reached for him. "_Stupify!_" he shouted as he flicked his wand he had clandestinely held in his hand up until then. With a bright red flash, the man was stunned.

Well, at least they were acting like normal Muggles now, Harry thought to himself as he pointed his wand at the next nearest person.

"He'll recover in just a minute, with nothing more than a headache," Hermione said clearly and concisely, her own wand pointedly at the nearest beefy man.

"Are you wizards?" said one of the patrons as they started to back away fearfully.

"I am a wizard. She is a witch, of course."

The circle around them grew by a greater margin. Several of the people made to the door to leave. The innkeeper looked very nervous and had the look as if something weren't settling well on his stomach.

"Pippin! What happened to Frodo?" one of the Hobbits asked. He seemed to be the beefiest of the lot.

"I think he was grabbed by that scruffy, dangerous looking fellow!" As a mass, the three Hobbits headed up the stairs to rescue their friend.

Harry looked over the area and their mostly finished dinner. "Maybe we should head up to our room now," he said to Hermione.

She nodded in response. "Which will be our room?" she asked the barkeep.

"Up the stairs. Last one to the left."

They nodded to the innkeeper and headed up the stairs. As they were passing a door that was slightly ajar, they both clearly heard some say, "What is this about a wizard downstairs?"

Harry gave the young woman at his side a glance and a quick shrug and knocked on the doorframe. "Hello?" he asked as he rapped smartly.

The door opened to show the four Hobbits and the scruffy man with the look of a dangerous warrior. They all just stared at the door, until one of them blurted out, "He was the one that magicked one of the patrons! He's the wizard!"

"Er, yes. Sorry about that, but I felt really threatened." He looked over the group.

"You are too young to be a wizard. And you do not have the look, either. What business brings you to Bree on this evening? Speak quickly."

"We were..." Harry looked over at Hermione and catching her eye. She shook her head curtly. As if reading her mind, he gleaned that he shouldn't mention the desk. "Sent here by magic. We did not mean to end up here. I'm sorry I can't say more."

"What is your name, Wizard?" the dark-eyed, wild-haired man asked intently. His gear looked well kept, but much worn and very used. He carried a wicked dagger in a sheath.

"I am Harry Potter."

"And I am Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you." Hermione tried smiling, but the smile faltered under the intense look she received.

"You may call me Strider. Did Gandalf send you to aid us, Harry Potter?" the man asked.

Harry glanced over at Hermione, but her expression was very schooled. As if she could not respond for some reason. "I'm afraid I don't know of this Gandalf that you are talking of. Should I have?"

"A wizard that does not know of Gandalf the Gray? What of you, girl? I think you know something."

Her face paled significantly. "I may have heard of the wizard Gandalf. But he would not have heard of Harry or I." In her eyes, Harry caught a glimpse of absolute terror.

"And why is that?" Strider demanded.

"We are from very distant lands. And we are only students of magic where we come from," Hermione replied tensely.

"Only students of magic from distant lands. How very droll." The man stared at them for a long moment. "I trust you enough, for that. Thanks to Mr. Tooks antics and your own display of power, it will not be safe to stay here this eve. Enemies hunt the night. And they will find us before dawn if action is not taken."

And so they used extra blankets to fill their beds with seemingly slumbering forms and crept oh so quietly out the back door to a modest house on the edge of town, up against the wall. Strider still didn't trust them, but because of their youth could not in good faith leave them to a perilous fate.

Harry and Hermione were led to a smaller room while the hobbits were taken to a larger room. Hermione just nodded as she checked the window. She barely cracked the curtain, as if she were afraid to see what was out there.

"Hermione? Is something wrong?" he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed, watching her intently.

"Hmm? No. Strider may be right. Something seems to be out there."

"Well, we need to go to bed. We need to figure out what we are doing in the morning." Harry looked very tired as he tried to smile at her to keep up her spirit.

Hermione nodded lethargically. He wasn't the only one that was tired. She undid the outer robes she was wearing, opening them in the front. "Harry, do you mind stepping outside the room while I change?" she asked wearily.

Harry blinked. "Ah, Hermione?" He jumped to his feet and turned his back. "Sure. That will work." His best friend did not just flash a lot of her torso at him. Luckily, she was still wearing her bra. His face was flaming as he exited the room.

The bushy-haired girl blinked. She suddenly realized that she wasn't _wearing_ anything under her robes but her underwear. "Oh, dear. I didn't mean to do that."

Harry came back a minute later, when Hermione called him in. She seemed to be wearing a very large T-shirt that seemed to resemble the shirt she had been originally wearing. With a quick wave she reverted his clothing to its baggy, Muggle state. "Er, Harry? I really didn't, well, mean to do that."

"Of course not! You aren't that kind of girl," he blurted out.

"And what sort of girl am I?" she asked with narrowed eyes, hinting at her anger.

"I, I really don't know how to respond to that. You're Hermione and one of my best friends. Probably the smartest and most loyal person I know. You're very pretty, when you care to try." Harry seemed to flounder a bit as he tried to answer. He flopped onto the bed, letting his legs hang off the edge. With a snort, he laughed. "Did that answer your question?"

"That was rather more than I expected, actually. Harry..." A very pensive expression was on her face. She sat next to him. Suddenly she kissed him quickly on his lips and then climbed under the bed covers. "Good night, Harry."

"But-" Harry held his fingers to his lips. He had not expected that at all!

"Think about it before asking me anything. Please."

Harry nodded in bemusement.

-

The next morning at breakfast, Harry had a very deep look of thought on his face.

Strider walked in as he slid his knife into the belt. "Your rooms at the inn were attacked. The Black Riders tried to kill you all, it seems."

Harry's mouth gaped open. "Someone is trying to kill you too?"

Strider laughed gruffly. "Too? I do not think that is was mere happenstance that led you here, Master Potter. For two wizards to be here is fate working behind the scenes. You must accompany us to Rivendell." Strider pulled on his pipe as he lit it.

"Harry, I think we should follow him. I think he might be right." Hermione looked to be concentrating very hard.

"If Hermione thinks we should, then it's a sure bet." Harry grinned at his new companions.

**Dangerous Encounters.**

"I didn't realize that you meant we would be walking. Not that I mind walking." Harry flashed a quick look over at his friend. "Are you up to it, Hermione? You don't get a lot of exercise."

"I will be perfectly fine, Harry Potter."

Harry winced at that acrid tone. He let himself be distracted by the hobbits antics and worry over the many mealtimes they seemed to think they require. He looked off into the distance as they walked out of the valley that the small town laid.

The four hobbits seemed to be as individual as anyone else Harry had ever met. Frodo seemed to brood a bit while Sam reminded Harry of Ron. Pippin was actually the 'Took' as that was just a name that Frodo had been traveling under that he gave to strangers. Merry and Pippin reminded Harry far too much of Fred and George. Strider was an enigma to them all, except perhaps Hermione.

Harry was nearly positive that his friend knew far more of what was going on than he would have first thought. But if she really had a good reason not to let anyone know, including him, he would just have to let it lay. By mid afternoon, he had exhausted all other thoughts in his mind while he numbly followed everyone. His thoughts would no longer shy away from last night.

Harry was almost positive that she hadn't meant to flash him. He supposed that she'd forgotten that they had transfigured their clothing into robes, instead of actually wearing their robes over their normal clothing.

The bigger concern to him was why had Hermione kissed him? And that was no friendly peck on the cheek, either. Why had she asked him think it over, too?

It slowly dawned on Harry that Hermione might have wanted him to take a hard look at their relationship, what they were to each other. Well, they were just friends, right?

Harry was forced to discard that after just a moment. Just friends did not kiss like that. But they obviously weren't boyfriend-girlfriend, no matter the accusations of the public.

What was Hermione trying to tell- Harry nearly boxed his own ears as he realized that that was exactly what Hermione was trying to do. She was telling him that being friends was not... enough, anymore.

Harry's heart started to hammer in his chest. She was his best friend. It would feel odd if she were to become his girlfriend, wouldn't it?

He discarded that thought quickly. He could admit to himself that he was attracted to her. Only the dead wouldn't be after seeing her in that gown over a year and a half ago. That blasted ball where she had gotten upset at him asking her to go with him.

No, that wasn't quite right. She was upset at being asked _last_. Epiphany struck him; Hermione had wanted him to ask her first. But he'd been too caught up with his infatuation with Cho. How long had she been waiting for him to notice her?

A great deal longer than he had believed possible. So why had she waited so long then?

"We will camp here. It should be safe enough," Strider said as he led the group up to a jumble of stones and rocks. The darkening sky told them that it would quickly be dark.

Harry realized he'd lost the entire day to his thoughts and the wearying walk. He glanced over to Hermione to check on her. She looked positively haggard and almost ill. "Hermione?"

"I am perfectly fine, Harry Potter!" she snapped with a bit of her old fire.

"Bullocks! Sit down and rest, that way I can too!"

It must have been a sign of how tired she was; that she didn't argue at all. She almost jumped when Harry started untying her tennis shoes. "Harry?"

"You've been limping. Let's see what you did to your feet." It didn't take long for Harry to reveal a mass of broken blisters. "Oh, Hermione. Why didn't you tell us?"

"We couldn't stay there, Harry. We really couldn't. I even know a charm to heal my feet a bit. We'll be safe, soon."

She muttered something under her breath that sounded a bit like, 'If we survive tonight.'

Strider finished handing the hobbits daggers and short swords. With that, he drifted off into the night.

"So, fix up your feet so we can start supper," Harry said with a smile.

"I can't. You can only cast it on someone else. Haven't you listened to Professor Flitwick at all?" A flicker of a smile danced across her face.

He grinned at her right back. "Not all of us are as studious as you are. Some of us want to have fun, too! Well, you can fix this blister I've got then!" Harry pulled off one of his ill-fitting shoes to show a single large blister.

Hermione sighed. "Watch closely." She wiggled the wand like a little infinity symbol with a little jab at the end. "Got that? Practice it really quick."

Harry nodded as he quickly copied her movement. Once he had it well enough, they practiced the incantation, _Curatio Velox._ Hermione healed his blister almost instantly. Harry took a few times to get it right, but Hermione was quite stoic about the pain his one really bad miscast on her caused.

"See, Harry? If you just applied yourself, you'd be twice the student I am!" She smiled at him fondly. "Don't forget that charm doesn't undo damage, it only heals things up faster. _Curatio Ossis _is the spell to heal a broken bone specifically."

They both put on their shoes and wandered slightly away from the four hobbits. It would be dark soon. Harry looked over the strange and wondrous land they had landed. He sneaked a glance at Hermione who was also looking over the land.

It was hopeless, he thought to himself. She would hate him, if she knew the real him, the boy who grew up in a cupboard.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked him. Off in the distance behind her, you could hear Sam, Pippin and Merry preparing a fire.

Harry frowned suddenly. "They aren't worth that much." Self-loathing welled up him. "They aren't worth anything."

"Harry... Please don't shut me out. I can't be there for you if you keep pushing me away," Hermione said earnestly. She raised her hand, as if to reach out to him. "I... care for you."

"It's safer for you. Away from me, I mean. And you only think you care for me." He took a quick breath. "If you knew the real me, you'd hate me like everyone else."

"Not everyone hates you-"

"They should. Everyone close to me gets hurt. Or worse." Tears were starting to leak out of his eyes, even as he tried to will them desperately away. He didn't want to be weak.

Hermione looked away with a wince, and then took a deep breath as she looked directly back at Harry. "Sirius came to try and save you, Harry. Just like you tried to save him."

"He _DIED_ because Snape hates me and my father! He _died_ because I am just a stupid boy that thought he was supposed to be the hero!" Harry spat out venomously. "He died because... because I was too weak-willed and stupid and, and, and because I had to know Snape's secrets. So Snape kicked me out of his Occulemancy course. And that's _my_ fault entirely." Harry dropped to his knees. "If I hadn't been an arrogant little git, just like Snape said I was, he wouldn't have died. We wouldn't have even gone to the Department of Mysteries. Because it was a trap, just like you thought."

Minutes later, Harry realized that Hermione was hugging him gently while rocking him. He looked up into her crying face. "I... I don't deserve to be happy, you see." He tried to pull away from her.

"No, Harry. If anyone deserves to be happy, you do. You've had such a hard life, such awful family that treats you horribly." She hiccupped a bit. "You just need to find the right person to love you."

Harry could see her gather her will and then suddenly she kissed him very hard. When they finally broke apart, he could only gasp out, "Why do you care for me? I've treated you so horribly, so badly. You and Ron both. I've been such a prat-"

Hermione kissed him again, almost dazing him. When they pulled apart, she answered, "Because you care so much. Because you have a great heart. And because I'm still that girl that you rescued from that troll so long ago. Even when everyone else had forgotten me."

And with that, Harry just buried his face in her bushy hair to cry. He finally sobbed out, "Why does it have to hurt so much?"

After about twenty minutes of just being there, together, Harry finally felt himself well enough to not snap out again. He released Hermione and then stood up. With a terrified expression, he reached down to help her up using her hands. But for some reason, he would not let go of one hand and gently pulled her towards the camp on the hill. Dusk was just falling as they ascended.

"Put it out! Put it out, now!" Frodo was yelling as he kicked dirt over the campfire when they got back to camp.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other in shock. What had come over-

Suddenly, a keening cry erupted from the bottom of the hill, chilling them to their bones.

"The Black Riders!" Sam noted in shock as he saw the dark cloaked figures starting to climb up to the six travelers.

"What are they? They don't... feel human?" Harry shouted.

Hermione pulled out her wand. "We have to fight." She was very pale. Harry didn't remember seeing her so pale since their first year when she was nearly flattened by that troll.

"Any particular spell?" Harry asked quietly as he pulled out his own wand.

"They sort of remind me of Dementors," she replied. "But more... menacing."

"Well, first thing then is a Patronus!" With a shout he summoned forth his stag-patronus. It galloped forward and hit the first Black Rider. It stumbled, but was not driven back.

"That didn't work. _Stupify!_" Hermione shouted without much conviction. The red beam seemed to do nothing.

"A little more vigor in your spell-casting today, Hermione!" With that, Harry enchanted one of the large boulders and flung it at the nearest Black Rider, smashing him off the cliff. "That worked fairly well. Let's try to just blast the others!"

"_Reducto!_" Hermione shouted as she blasted another one. It was also flung off the small cliff face.

And then Strider appeared with a burning brand to help them finish driving off the Black Riders in just a few short moments.

The hobbits looked amazed. "I didn't think that they could be driven off!" Frodo exclaimed.

Merry and Pippen nodded in agreement to his statement. Sam just watched the two human children warily. "We can't depend on them to be there for us all the time."

Hermione replied, "That is correct, Samwise. And for all our powers, we are still human."

Strider seemed to look at them closely. "Indeed."

**Journey to Rivendell.**

The next few days were still quite hard on the youngsters. Harry held up, as he was quite tough in his own way. Hermione was intellectually tough, but was very unprepared for physical hardships. Her feet were blistered by noon the first day again, and she had to struggle to breathe as they walked hard each day. Harry ended up helping her each afternoon.

"Only another day and we shall be safe within the lands of Rivendell. The Black Riders may dare to track us there, but the power of the elves is not small even in this day and age." Strider stared ahead. "If the Riders appear again, we shall have to press for the border and hope for the best." He headed back down their trail.

"What's he doing?" Harry wondered aloud.

Sam replied cheerfully. "Ah, he is probably going to be hiding our trail. Only a ranger could follow his trail when he wants it."

They traveled for the next two days carefully, hiding when the Black Riders appeared. But Strider's skills seemed up to the task. They were never found. Late on the second day, they arrived at the river bordering the Elven lands.

Hermione seemed surprised to find out that she was starting to hurt less each day. Harry had noted that she would take the time, no matter how much pain she was in to try and cheer him up. After the cold fording of the river, they entered the woods surrounding Rivendell. Almost instantly, elves appeared to take them through the hidden paths to the majestic mountain home.

Strider was conferring with a beautiful elven woman in low tones. He turned back to his companions. "It seems bad news still haunts us. Gandalf the Gray has not yet arrived. I will speak with Elrond about the matter." He started to walk faster, the woman at his side keeping pace easily.

"Elrond? Gandalf? Didn't you mention Gandalf before? He's a wizard, right?" Harry asked the hobbits.

"Indeed. He's one of the four wizards that still walk these lands. He's kind of odd, as he seems to like hobbits for some reason," Frodo replied with a grin. Off in the distance, incredible voices started to sing. "Oh, the elves are singing!"

Out of the corner of his eyes, Harry noted a sad smile from Hermione. He gave her a questioning look.

"Isn't it just so beautiful?" was all she said.

Harry nodded, feeling that he was missing something profound. With a quick glance around, he slipped his hand into hers with a small blush. Hermione's smile became radiant somehow. She never removed her hand until they reached Rivendell and were led to their rooms.

**Meetings and discussions.**

"Gandalf is here! After these weeks, he's finally here!" Merry shouted, waking Harry and Hermione up. And probably half the castle, Harry through ruefully.

"I think they heard you back in the Shire," Pippin called out happily.

But in no time at all, all of them gathered down the stairs to the main entrance. A stately elf wearing a crown of stars was in front of a very odd looking old man in ragged gray robes. The old man had a worn staff that he leaned on.

"Ah! Frodo and Samwise. It seems you made it," he said with a large, friendly smile. "Merry and Pippin too? That is unexpected. But not so much as these two. Wizard and Witch, they say? I am Gandalf the Gray. Well met."

"Harry. Harry Potter, sir. Nice to meet you," the Boy Who Lived said, ducking his head in greeting. While his eyes did not quite sparkle the way that Dumbledore's had, they seemed to be of the same cloth. Kindness and awesome power in human form.

"Hermione Granger," the young witch said in greeting. She seemed greatly awed by the old man.

"I have called across the land, Gandalf, for all the races to gather. This matter is too grave to be decided by elf and hobbit alone." Elrond the elf lord radiated an incredible presence. "They should be here within just a few days now."

"Good. There are things that must be discussed before hand. Harry, Hermione? Let us talk," Gandalf said as he gestured to a small anteroom. He led them in and sat down on a low, elven bench. "I do not know if you are aware, but Wizards are uncommonly rare in Arda."

Harry shrugged. "This isn't our world at all. I'm not sure. We were... banished here by an evil wizard using-"

"-under the orders of a Dark Lord from our lands," Hermione said quickly. "He obviously is trying to attack Harry, who defeated him as child."

Harry gave her a quizzical look. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized that Hermione seemed terrified. Her face was pale under the light tan she had been getting. "Yes, he really hates me for some reason," he said blandly.

"A Dark Lord? Is he in league with Sauron?" Gandalf asked, his bushy eyebrows drawn down in deep thought.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so."

Harry just shrugged. He had no idea.

"And you really are wizard and witch?" the old man asked.

"Yes!" Hermione pulled out her wand. "_Lumos!_" A beam of light came from her wand.

"And you are a race, like my own Istari?" Gandalf asked.

"I'm sorry? I don't understand?" the young man asked.

"I was born of two very normal humans," Hermione said with a smile. "That happens sometimes. But most are born of wizarding families."

"Or mixed families," Harry said helpfully.

The old wizard reached up and brushed Harry's hair from his forehead. "And this scar so terrible?"

"I was marked by a curse that you can not survive by Voldemort himself." Harry eyes were locked on Gandalf's eyes.

"I sense a bond formed from this, am I right?" Gandalf just nodded when Harry confirmed that.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at that. "It seems I need to grill you a bit more about that scar of yours, Harry. You've been holding out on me."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, I guess so."

"You must have been brought to this world specifically. I feel that your fates are tied to this dark quest," Gandalf said softly. His words seemed to be full of import and tidings. "I must ask that you stay here until the council is called. And that you be there for that council."

"Yes, sir." Harry nodded with Hermione.

**Heart to Heart Prophecy.**

"Are you going to explain why I can't talk about-" Harry was interrupted by Hermione's hand over his mouth. They had been led back to their rooms.

Her face had gone deathly pale again. "Please, Harry. We can't. It's too dangerous. Not at all here. When we get back home, I'll explain. But never here. Trust me." Little tears of fear had pooled in her eyes.

He nodded. Once her hand was away, he spoke again; "I do trust you Hermione. You've always been there for me. I'd trust you with my life!"

"Good! Because you are doing so again, Harry Potter!" she said pointedly. "Now what is up with you knowing more about your scar?"

Harry's expression turned uncomfortable. "I really don't want to say. It's nothing good," he replied darkly. "It will just cause problems for you if I tell you."

"Harry Potter! How can I help you if you don't trust me enough to know _how_ to help you?" she snapped irritably.

"I do trust you, Hermione. More than anyone."

"Posh. You trust Ron more than me." Hermione flopped onto the bed. "But that's probably because of your Firebolt issue from our third year."

That got Harry upset. That had always bugged him a bit, though he tried to put it behind him. "I do not have an issue with you because of that!"

"Then why can't you trust me now, Harry?" she asked.

"It's not safe. If I tell you, you would be in even more danger!" he shouted out suddenly.

Hermione sat up to look at Harry where he stood with his back to her. "Harry... V-Voldemort probably wants me dead already, because I'm a 'mudblood'. And your friend that is going to stand by your side no matter what. I don't see how I can be in _more_ danger than that." She stood up and walked over to him, even as he turned to her.

"It's because I know the prophecy! Don't you see?" he shouted, fists bunched up tightly. His whole body was tense, even as he kept his eyes downcast.

"But it was lost! Destroyed!" she stuttered out in surprise.

"Funny thing about prophecies. When you hear them being spoken for the first time, you can't forget them. So all you have to do is ask the people that first heard it," Harry muttered darkly.

"What? I mean who knew it and didn't tell you?" Hermione said in shock.

"Dumbledore. He knew. It was Trelawney, you see. She actually told him a real prophecy-"

"That fraud told a real prophecy?" she exclaimed again in shock. It almost seemed as if one of the major underpinnings of her world had just fallen off.

"Two so far. Remember the one about Pettigew?" Harry continued at her nod. "Well, she said one to Dumbledore before I was born. Predicting that I would defeat him."

"There's more, isn't there?" she asked shrewdly.

"Neither can live while the other survives. And one of us is destined to kill the other."

"So your prophecy says that you are the only one that can defeat V-Voldemort?" she asked.

Harry nodded mutely, even as Hermione laid her left hand on his shoulder.

"No wonder Dumbledore doesn't want Tom to know it," she whispered.

"What?"

"Don't you understand? This makes Voldemort _invincible_ against anyone else. They are not you, so they can not kill him. But he can kill them!" Her eyes were wide in frightened wonder.

Harry's stomach seemed to drop to his feet. He had not thought of it that way.

"And now I'm not going to go off and try to take him down myself! So you telling me this _is_ keeping me safer!" Hermione suddenly smiled, though it barely touched her chocolate eyes.

"Well, that's one way to look at it," he muttered though his heart did lighten a bit at that.

Hermione hand moved from his shoulder to his cheek. "Oh, Harry. Why does it have to be you?"

With trembling hands, Harry pulled her closer and into a loose hug. "I don't deserve someone like you caring for me."

"Harry, you deserve so much more. You deserve your parents living and loving you. You deserve someone to love you unconditionally because you are a very good person," she whispered in his ear.

"I don't know what love is," Harry whispered back into her ear.

"You will know," she replied back softly, "when you find it."

**The Council and the Striders.**

"Elves, men, dwarves and hobbits of Middle-Earth, we have a crisis before us. Frodo, if you will," Elrond said as he stood in the center of the circle. Curious warriors watched them all closely as Frodo set a simple gold ring on a pedestal in the center near Elrond. "The One Ring has been found. Mordor is on the move. The Dark Riders scour the land. War is upon us all!"

Startled exclamations struck them all except the hobbits and the two children. Harry just looked confused while Hermione looked decidedly worried. They listened as they argued what should be done with it. Some advocated using the ring, while others felt that Gandalf's advice to destroy it was best. It was starting to turn ugly when Frodo suddenly leaped to his feet and yelled that he would take it. But he knew not the way.

"Then I will guide you, friend," said Gandalf as he knelt next to the hobbit.

"And I will protect you!" called out Harry. This must be what Gandalf meant. The dwarf that had tried to break the ring earlier added his voice along side Strider's and an elf's declaration.

A large human warrior just looked at the stunted form of Harry. "You? Protect the Ring? What folly is this? I will accompany you. These children need to be returned to their parents!" Boromir stood up and glared down at him.

Harry suddenly whipped out his wand and petrified the cocksure warrior. "I am a wizard. And this must be the reason I was brought to these lands." With a wave of his wand, noble from Gondor was freed.

"I'm with you wherever you go, Master Frodo!" Samwise called out.

"And I go wherever Harry goes," Hermione stated simply as she stood with her wand in her hand.

"A witch?" Legolas the elf asked.

Hermione just raised her left eyebrow at him. "Why, yes, I am."

"Nine Striders to counter the thirteen Dark Riders. This is a potent portent," Gandalf said. "We shall leave in the morning."

"Wait! We wish to go!" Merry yelled suddenly as he and Pippin suddenly leapt from concealment.

Gandalf looked at them closely. "While I feel that you have a part to play yet in these matters, it is not that of a Companion."

The two hobbits looked crestfallen. Merry finally piped up, "So where are you headed?"

Everyone just gave him a strange look.

**Wizarding and Family Concerns.**

"Ah, Mrs. Dursley. Thank you for arriving so quickly," Dumbledore said in greeting.

"Why was I brought here?" she demanded. In the very normal looking kitchen she saw a vaguely familiar couple that looked quite normal along with Lupin, Dumbledore and one wizard she had not met.

"An attack was carried out on your nephew this evening," the last wizard said pomp. "This is a grave concern to the wizarding world. Especially his continued use of magic out of school."

"Minister Fudge, while they may be meta-physically here within the house, they have no idea of this fact. They believe they are in some other world, fighting for their lives. As a matter of fact, if they were not to protect themselves to the fullest of their abilities it is most likely that they would both die!" the headmaster admonished.

"Your reputation does not cast that long a shadow right now, Dumbledore! Once we have asserted this man's identity, we will be able to release the children from this artifact!" The Minister of Magic seemed quite wroth.

"I've already told you that he is Peter Pettigew! That he is a Deatheater! And that he faked his death and that he was behind the deaths of Lily and James!" Lupin suddenly shouted. His fists were quivering with his anger.

"We shall see! I am sure that once we have recaptured Black that all will become clear!" Fudge snapped back.

The werewolf narrowed his eyes. "That, Minister, would be impossible."

"Protecting him, are you? That's not surprising considering your background! I should have you arrested. How long would you last in Azkaban?" he taunted.

"Sirius Black was framed. He had Lily change Peter to be the secret keeper. And Peter was the one who told You Know Who where to go to murder the Potters!" Lupin took a deep breath. In a _perfectly_ calm voice he continued, "As for the reason that you capturing Sirius Black will be impossible is that he... is... dead. By one of the Deatheaters that broke into the Ministry of Magic just one month ago."

"I'll believe that when I see his body with my own eyes!" Fudge snarled. His face was contorting through a range of ugly, angry emotions.

"If you want to retrieve his body, you will have to go through the veil," the one-time professor snarled.

Fudge paled. "He fell through the veil?"

"Killed by his own family."

"Why didn't you tell me this, Dumbledore?" Fudge said, suddenly turning on the headmaster.

"I was not there. Did your Aurors not mention this?" the oldest wizard asked.

"I thought those three were raving! This complicates things!"

"As if Voldemort's return had not?" Dumbledore countered.

The shock of the Dark Lord's name silenced the conversation for just a moment. Petunia suddenly spoke up. "What has happened to Harry?"

Fudge shot Dumbledore a nasty glare. "He has fallen victim to a powerful artifact that is sometimes called the Desk of Nightmares. It was created by a sadistic wizard to kill his victims with his favorite books of horror and terror."

"Harry and Hermione have been taken into the desk where they will live out the book as part of their story. There is no known way to retrieve them. This will be a long night, I fear." Dumbledore looked as if he had wilted.

"Why is this so dangerous? You are not telling me something!" the thin muggle said with a strangled voice.

"There are rules within this desk. Revealing that you know you are within the story unleashes the evil protagonist from the constrains of the plot. Whatever it is can then attack the imprisoned directly. And they are in deadly danger, though safer than Peter would have left them," the headmaster explained. "We believe that they are within a favorite book of Hermione's, the Lord of the Rings. That is much more preferable than a book based on H.P. Lovecraft."

Petunia blanched at that. "So why did you bring me here? I can't do any magic!"

"I believe your presence and the presence of Hermione's parent can be of benefit. I would ask that you spend the night. For Harry's sake."

The older muggle looked around helplessly. "He will be so angry! I really shouldn't!"

"We can not force you to stay, Mrs. Dursley. It is your choice." Dumbledore stood up. "Come on now, Minister. I believe we have an interrogation to attend to."

She wrung her hands as if she were trying to work some lotion into them. Suddenly, her shoulders sagged. "Very well. I'll stay."


End file.
